Ensuring Our Children’s Proof of Citizenship, and, A Little Ceremony Could Have Been a Good Thing

The Child Citizenship act of 2000 provides that children adopted by U.S. citizens automatically achieve citizenship, either when they enter the U.S. if the adoption was finalized in a foreign court, or when the adoption is finalized if there is a waiting period before the adoption is finalized in U.S. court. NOTE: Although under this relatively recent act, children are automatically citizens, it is still advisable to get a Certificate of Citizenship . Children who enter the U.S. on an IR-3 visa are now supposed to be sent one automatically upon entering the U.S. , but if you adopted before … Continue reading

Certificate of Citizenship: Why Isn’t a Passport Good Enough?

My last blog talked about the importance of ensuring your adopted child’s US citizenship. This blog talks about the importance of being able to prove it. When our daughters’ adoptions were finalized, we immediately obtained passports for them. A passport, I had always been told, was the ultimate proof of citizenship—better than a birth certificate, better than a social security card, better than just about anything. Our older daughter’s adoption was finalized in 2001, just after the Child Citizenship Act took effect. We were told we could apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. None of us really knew what that … Continue reading